Startup Spotlight: eliteLYFE wants you to rent a yacht and an exotic car with your luxurious vacation rental

The rise of Airbnb and HomeAway has made vacation rentals a top accommodation choice for business and leisure travelers alike. While those two sites pretty much dominate the homesharing market, a crop of startups has started popping up to cater to the luxury traveler. One of those startups, eliteLYFE, aims to take things to the next level by offering concierge-style services and super exclusive add-ons. We talked to Niko Contardi, founder of eliteLYFE to find out more.

RWV: What is eliteLYFE, what problem does it solve and how does it work?

Niko Contardi: eliteLYFE is a travel and lifestyle marketing company catering to elite jet-set travelers. We take the guesswork out of searching for and finding luxury rentals by providing verified and trusted villas in some of the most highly-sought-after vacation destinations on the planet, as well as global platinum concierge services to help our guests travel without the burden of having to “figure stuff out" upon arrival. Travelers can search and book online or contact one of our luxury travel designers to cater an itinerary to their needs.

RWV: What makes eliteLYFE different from the other luxury rental platforms out there?

NC: While there are other luxury rental companies that provide high-end homes, eliteLYFE offers an all-encompassing luxury travel solution that includes yacht charters, private jet charters, exotic cars, and even off-market hotel suites for the discerning traveler. Our existing relationships with other trusted players in the market allows us to offer luxury land, sea and air travel solutions to our guests.

Photo: Puna Mita courtesy of eliteLYFE

RWV: What changes or improvements to travel does eliteLYFE seek to create?

NC: eliteLYFE makes luxury travel easy and accessible by providing a single solution for booking trusted travel products all under the same umbrella without having to scour the Web or source multiple providers. Our cloud-based reservation platform includes features such real-time availability for most rentals, online bookings with electronically signable rental agreements, the ability to book by hour for certain travel products such as exotic cars, yachts and jets, and integrated payment platform. We seek to deliver true value to the luxury rental marketplace.

Photo: eliteLYFE

RWV: What are the future goals for eliteLYFE?

NC: We hope to be a leading provider of luxury travel in some of the most highly-sought-after vacation destinations on the planet. Our future goals include a membership-only tier that will provide yearly access to an ultra-exclusive group of villas, yachts, private jets and exotic cars to our most discerning guests. ​